Death Penalty
In the spring of 2000, a team of lawyers and criminologists headed by Prof. James Liebman released the first phase of their study on the death penalty in the United States. The study showed that the American system of capital punishment was "riddled" with unfairness and incompetence, with serious errors erupting with alarming frequency at every stage of the process. In February of 2002, the second phase was released examining the causes for the frequent mistakes in death penalty cases, and possible solutions to remedy the situation. Researchers identified three main errors that often lead to erroneous convictions: incompetent legal counsel, police officers or prosecutors who suppressed evidence and judges who gave jurors the wrong instructions. The study also suggested that the errors that permeate throughout the system also leave killers at large, exacerbate suffering, waste tax dollars and deprive citizens of the high quality of justice, which they expect and deserve. !In conclusion, the study found that "the more often officials use the death penalty, the wider the range of crimes to which it is applied, and the more it is impo
In a recent survey of 70 current and former presidents of three professional associations of criminologists (the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Law and Society Association), 85% of the experts agreed that empirical research on deterrence has shown that the death penalty "never has been, is not, and never could be superior to long prison sentences as a deterrent to criminal violence" (Radelet and Borg 2000). The courts have less time and effort to prepare each death penalty case, therefore increasing its chances for errors. sed for offenses that are not highly aggravated, the greater the risk of capital convictions and sentences will be seriously flawed. With such a high rate of error surrounding capital punishment in this cou!ntry, the public may react with a form of general defiance. Public opinion on capital punishment in America over the past 50 years has fluctuated tremendously. The failures of the court system may infuriate members of society to act against the government, and in return pro-death penalty supporters will be forced to re-consider their rigid stance on the issue. The slight downward trend in death penalty supporters signifies the public's increasing disapproval of capital punishment, and eventually will lead to the reform of death penalty laws. Since 1982, about 75% of the population has favored capital punishment, with a slow decline in recent years (Gillespie 1999). Today, one of the more relevant issues surrounding capital punishment is retribution. With the aid of recent studies and scientific innovations, another prevalent issue that has lead to the decline of pro-death penalty supporters is the ever-increasing number of erroneous convictions in homicide crimes. While about two thirds of Americans say they still support the death penalty, nearly 70 percent say capital punishment, in its current form, is flawed and unfair because innocent people are still convicted and ultimately killed (U. Liebman's, discredit capital punishment as a flawless and effective system and will lead to a dramatic drop in pro-death penalty supporters, and eventually the reformation of the current capital punishment laws. In this instance, one argues that those who commit the "most heinous of crimes" should be executed simply on the grounds that it is the appropriate punishment (U.
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Acceptance Essays
